Good is Good

APRIL 10, 2017

Hello, my wonderful friends!

I would like to start off my letter today by acknowledging the fact that it has only been about 5 days since my last preparation day, so I am going to attempt to make the excuse that I don't have too much to write about this week. In other words, I have decided that I am really bad at knowing what to write in my emails to you all. 

I guess I will just go for it and hopefully I can properly explain how my week was for ya. Here we go:

Joe Miglino

I love Brother Miglino SO much! He is a less-active member (convert) we have been working with for a couple weeks now. He takes us out for lunch each week at the best (and only) diner I have been to in New York! The burgers are simply amazing there. Brother Miglino has one of the kindest and purest hearts I have ever seen in a person. He always goes out of his way to serve others and to lift their spirits a little. Brother Miglino has been telling us about a friend he has who is atheist and wants absolutely nothing to do with religion. Well, we were over at Brother Miglino's house on Thursday and none other than his atheist friend, Dave, walks into the house! Brother Miglino went into his version of "missionary mode", and starts telling his friend that we were here to save his soul! It was so awesome! Dave was telling us that he used to believe in God, but that his life has really gone downhill to the point where he felt there is no way there could be a God. We (mostly Brother Miglino, who has had some doubts about God himself) testified to Dave that we knew we had a Father in Heaven who truly loved him and gives us challenges to help us learn and grow. We ended up watching a General Conference talk. The spirit was really strong! I am sure that Dave felt something. A lot more happened, but we were able to set up an appointment to go over to Dave's house on Saturday to talk more about the gospel and then we left. Brother Miglino called us after Dave left his house. He was baffled that we were able to set up a visit with Dave. I definitely know that there is no way we would have been able to without help from Heavenly Father through the Holy Ghost. I love being able to see the influence of God in others' lives. It is truly remarkable!

New Investigators

Alright! So, not sure if you all remember what I said about the fast Elder McConkie and I did to find new investigators last week. Just in case, I will recap on it. Elder McConkie and I have been getting a little frustrated not being able to find new investigators lately. So, we decided that we should fast for help in finding new investigators. We started our fast on Monday and decided we were going to go hard on knocking and asking for a million and a half referrals from everyone! We saw miracles. Ever since we fasted on Monday, Elder McConkie and I have found a new investigator every day this week. It has been incredible to experience how Heavenly Father guides us to find those He has been preparing. I LOVE being apart of His work! 

That is something that I have been learning a lot about this week. Heavenly Father's work isn't just to get people baptized and made a member of His church. "For behold, this is my work and my glory--to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." God's work is all about bringing to pass His children's eternal life. Eternal life is gained through personal progression in the gospel and becoming like our Savior, Jesus Christ. In General Conference, President Eyring said that God's work is us. Our personal progression is the sole purpose of our Heavenly Father's work. Pretty awesome! Anything God does (not matter how strange it may seem) is for our benefit.  Heavenly Father is amazing!

Mr. McKee

Well, I guess missionary work just wouldn't be missionary work without running into a few of those odd balls. We ran into Mr. McKee (he wouldn't give us his first name) while knocking doors one evening. He came out of his house and on to the front porch and just started telling us off. He said stuff like "Your generation is illiterate and dumb, but you're all too stupid to realize it". He has zero belief in God, but is a very intelligent man! We started asking him what he likes to do. He labeled himself as being a "polymath" and as having an IQ of 200. We had a "decent" conversation about astronomy before Mr. McKee decided he was cold and told us to come inside his house. We stepped inside, and he proceeded to show us all the books that we need to read in order to educate ourselves and which order we were to read them in. The whole time he was showing us his book collection, we were asking him questions about God and testifying to him that God really does love us and has a perfect plan for us. He was caught of guard each time we brought up the subject of religion. Mr. McKee called us fools for believing is such a nonsensical thing and that we should spend our time reading. We told him that we DO spend time reading...the Book of Mormon. Mr. McKee said that he would never read such a book, but I am certain that he felt the spirit (even slightly) as we testified to him of the Savior. I hope and pray that he will find and read the Book of Mormon and Restoration pamphlet we left on his shelf.

Missionary Fireside

So, yesterday (Sunday) we had a stake-wide missionary fireside! It was SUPER cool! Here is basically how it worked. The focal point of the fireside were a few recent converts who were asked to give little talks about their conversion to the gospel and how they developed their testimonies. It was really cool to be able to listen to some of the recent converts I know and feel the spirit as they testified of the reality of the Savior and our Father in Heaven. President and Sister Reynolds also spoke at the fireside. I love being able to listen to those two speaks to the members of the stake. They are such spiritual powerhouses! The reason it was called a "missionary fireside" is because there was a musical number performed by missionaries in the stake in between each of the speakers. I was asked to sing with Sister Staker and Sister Gourley as well as direct a Zone Musical number. The two sisters and I (with Elder McConkie on the piano) sang "I Feel My Savior's Love" and my zone (Elder McConkie on the piano again) sang "Joseph Smith's First Prayer". The spirit was SO strong during all the musical numbers done by a bunch of different missionaries. It was truly incredible to be apart of the fireside. I could definitely feel the love our Father in Heaven and our Savior have for each and every one of us. They truly do know us on a personal and individual level beyond our comprehension! I am so grateful for the love They have for me and for everyone. I feel a sliver of that love each and every day. What a beautiful thing it is! 

Well, that's it for this week! I love you all and wish you the best!

Well, that's it for this week! I love you all and wish you the best!

Elder Snell

Picture Palooza!

1) Lunch at TABY'S with Brother Miglino!

2) Nice sunset!

3) Neat view!

4) Sister Irma's celery flavored soda!

5) GLOW STICK PARTY!

6) I spy with my little -- it's a tree.

There's A Snake in My ..... Loop?

EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!

This week was super awesome!! How could it not be with General Conference being a part of it? SUPER great Conference! Goodness, were those amazing talks or what? I love when we get to hear from our inspired leaders of the Church. 

I guess since I already brought up the topic, I will just start with my thoughts on General Conference. WOW!!! I got a TON out of General Conference. Paying attention actually pays off  I had a lot of questions I was looking for answers to as I watched Conference this time around. I can honestly say that every single talk had a piece to the answers I was searching for. It is truly incredible to witness how Heavenly Father really does know each of His children individually, and loves us all so much as to help answer our questions through His called leaders of His Church. One question that I had for the Lord had to do with how I can get to know Him better. It seemed to me that pretty much every talk had something to do with how we can better come to know our Savior, Jesus Christ and our Father in Heaven! Wow, the spirit was so strong as all who spoke testified of our Savior. Really neat experience. However, a lot of the "magic" of General Conference happens after the Conference is over. So, I would highly encourage everyone to continue to study the talks given and follow the impressions you all had with full faith that it is what is right for you. One thing I had the impression to do is to further study the New Testament solely to learn about Christ and how I can know Him, not just know of Him. So, I assigned each Christlike Attribute (outlined in Chapter 6 of Preach My Gospel) a different color. As I am reading through the New Testament, I am marking each example of one of Christ's defining characteristics. It truly is eye opening! I have only been doing it for a few days, but I have already grown so much because of it! General Conference was the GREATEST!!!! And yes, we have watched Elder Costa's talk with 4 investigators already. This was probably my favorite General Conference I have seen!

Between sessions of General Conference on Saturday, we had a funeral for an investigator's husband who recently passed away due to cancer. A few of the members of the ward came to support Raquel and her kids, but the congregation was mostly made up of non-members mourning the loss of their dear friend. It was really interesting to be a part of. Being at this funeral made me really grateful for the knowledge that I have of the Plan of Salvation. This plan gives me so much hope for the future and has gotten me through some hard times in life. I am beyond grateful to our Savior (and Heavenly Father for sending him) for the amazing sacrifice He made for each of us out of pure love. This knowledge really just puts a special twinkle in your eye :)

I went on an exchange with Elder Corbett (one of my Zone Leaders). He is an amazing missionary! I learned a whole bunch from him. We pretty much just knocked all night in the pouring rain, but it was so fun and really helpful! My conversational skills are improving! Yay! 

I am sure that most of you have already seen it, but the new Easter Initiative from Mormon.org is AMAZING!!! I love the #PRINCEofPEACE video! I feel the spirit SO strong every time I get to share it with people. It has such a special message about finding peace through Jesus Christ. If you haven't seen it yet, GO WATCH IT! Then share it with a friend. It is too good not to watch 

Alright, last thing...I think. Elder McConkie and I haven't really seen much success lately in finding New Investigators. So, we decided we should fast about it so we can be led to find someone who is being prepared by the Lord. We started our fast the night before and set out for the day. We taught a few lessons with the investigators we have been working with for a while, and then we spent a lot of time out on the streets, knocking. We went to a street where we had already knocked about half of it thinking we should probably finish out the rest of it. We got about 8 houses in with no success until we knocked on Lale's door. We talked with her for about an hour on her doorstep (we would've gone in, but her husband wasn't home). Lale is from Turkey and has been in America since 2000. She is SUPER cool and really interested in learning more about Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon.

That is really all I can remember to share with you all this week. I hope you have a wonderful rest of this week!

May the Lord be ever in your favor!

Elder Snell

Picture time! 

1, 2) Zone Leader Exchange: Elder Corbett, Elder McConkie, Elder Snell, Elder Weisler

3) Blaze Pizza with the Zone Leaders

4) Dinner for lunch with Brother Miglino (less-active we are working with)

5) Cute, little cemetery behind Brother Miglino's house. Some of the headstones date back into the 1700s!

6) Found this fancy thing in said cemetery.

7) You know the missionaries are at the church when...

8, 9) Sister Olsen's Brazilian Rainbow Boa

10) We were at the Bishop's house for dinner, and Sister Olsen asked if we could come help her move a dresser. She also showed us her snake and let us hold it. The snake really liked me, and wanted to give me a hug. In the process of said hug, the snake found its way through one of my belt loops, and got very stuck. After 5 minutes of gentle words of persuasive coaxing, the Boa finally decided to release its hold on my pants and return safely into its living unit. 'Twas the most excellent of parties with the Bishop's family and Sister Olsen!

Riddle Me This! Riddle Me That!

Hello, Friends! It's nice to be here with you in Primary!

Wow, there is just so much that happened this week that I could talk about! I will attempt to spare you from a super long and boring email... :)

First off, Elder McConkie and I were talking with a member from the Westbury branch last Saturday. Turns out he works for a solar company and has been a door-to-door salesman for many years. Since we, as missionaries, also go door-to-door, we asked him (Brother Haws) how he plans out his time and what the best methods are for getting into a home. We talked with him for a bit and then set up a time where we could go to his house so he can teach us more. Apparently, Brother Haws has given a workshop on everything we talked about a year ago in a Zone Training Meeting, and our Zone Leaders had asked him to give another workshop for our Zone Training Meeting that was Friday. Brother Haws presented to everyone a new way to "develop and area". He said to pick 2-3 areas of roughly 150-200 homes. Every time you are going to go knocking, go to your first chosen area and knock as many houses as you can while keeping track of who says yes, no, or aren't home. Every day for the next week, come back to the same area and knock all the houses that were not home until you have talked to every single person in the neighborhood. There is a little more to it than what I just explained, but it is very thorough. Brother Haws also typed out a "pitch" for missionaries to use at the door. It is actually pretty awesome and has helped us out a TON! Let me know if you want a copy of his pitch :)

Hopefully that knocking business made a little bit of sense... sorry if it is confusing! Anyway, Elder McConkie and I decided we were going to start this knocking method on Saturdayconsidering that all of our lessons cancelled on us last minute. So, we drew out the boundaries for the three areas we were going to be focusing on and did some door knocking role plays for about an hour before heading out to do it for real. We drove to our first area and commenced knocking. As we started, something felt very off. We decided to keep on knocking. Not a single person answered the door our of about 15 homes. Elder McConkie and I felt very strange. We said a prayer, and knew that we were not in the right place. For some reason, even though it made no sense at all, we both felt that we needed to go to the church. We ditched all our knocking plans for the day, and drove down to the church. When we got there, the Sisters were there with one of their recent converts. They were trying to set up for the women's broadcast of General Conference. Turns out that they didn't have an HDMI cable or adapter. I did have one, so we let them borrow it for the broadcast. We also felt that we should walk across the street to the neighborhood park. We walked around talking to everyone there until we spotted a man playing tennis by himself on one of the tennis courts. We felt that we should go introduce ourselves to him. He is from Romania and is super agnostic. We had a very interesting conversation about God and talked a lot about the Plan of Salvation. Nothing super significant came out of our conversation, but I just hope and pray that he will ponder what we talked about with him. He wouldn't let us give him a Book of Mormon or a pamphlet, so we just left him with a Mormon.org card and our number on it. The rest of the day was super weird! We went back to the church and still felt that we were needed somewhere. We said about a hundred prayers that day. We turned to the Book of Mormon for answers and were only guided one little step at a time. I felt like the Book of Mormon was giving us little clues to one big riddle! We were getting really hungry, but felt that we shouldn't go home to make dinner. Then, Sister Salas randomly texted us and said that she made us food and had it all packed up to go. We drove down to her house, thanked her for the food, and ate it at a nearby park while talking to as many people as we could. We still felt like we were needed somewhere, but had no clue where to go. We called a bunch of members and investigators asking if anyone needed anything. Everyone was all good, today. For some reason, the Huntington Hospital kept coming to mind, so we drove up there. Nothing. Then we went to the Kellers who weren't available right then. We finished up our night with some look-ups. It was such a weird day, and not much came out of it. However, I know that the entire day was led 100% by the Spirit. Not sure exactly why we felt we needed to go all over the place, but I know Heavenly Father sure knows what He is doing! 1 Nephi 4:6.

That was a long paragraph! Sorry... anyway, last week, Irma said she gave a Book of Mormon to her friend. So, we asked her to invite her friend over for dinner! Sister Irma did exactly that and invited us to be there as well. After we ate dinner, we taught Irma's friend the Restoration. She felt the spirit and really loved meeting with us! Sister Irma was so happy to be able to share the gospel with her neighbor! 

OH! I just remembered a story! Last one, I promise! I can't remember if this is from this last week or the week before then, so if you have already read this story, I apologize. Anyway, Elder McConkie and I were knocking a street before we needed to head out to a lesson and it was super cold. We knocked a couple houses with no real results. Elder McConkie stopped, looked at me, and said, "Alright, I am super cold. Elder Snell, we only have time to knock one more house. Pick one that will let us in." I looked up and down the street and a small blue car parked in a driveway caught my eye. I decided we would knock on that house as our last one. A nice looking lady opened the door and said, "Oh, you both look like popsicles! Please, come in!" Turns out that the couple were both Presbyterian pastors who had just moved here a couple months ago. They knew exactly who we were and felt they should help us out a bit. After talking with them for a while, they invited us to come to dinner with them and some of their friends. Every Wednesday night, they get a group of people from their church together and go to the diner right across the street from our apartment and discuss a gospel topic. They invited us to come with them and teach their friends a little bit about the LDS church! We haven't been able to go yet, but we are trying to free up a Wednesday for it!

Wow, that was a long email! Sorry for that. It truly was a great week, though!

I love you all and hope you have an amazing week!

Elder Snell

Gummy Bear Party

One of our investigators LOVES ladybugs! 🐞and this is only less than half of it. 

Somewhere up in Northport. 

President Roosevelt had an office in this building. 

Rain is Falling All Around

Hello, friends!

I don't have too much time this week to write my weekly email. Time
just snuck away from me today! So, I will just cut right to the chase.

About a week ago, a member from the Rego Park ward called us and asked
if we could giver her aunt (who isn't a member of the Church) a
blessing. She lives in our area, so we were more than happy to help
out with it! On Thursday, we drove up to Northport to give Betty her
blessing. When we got there, she sat us down on her couch and we began
to get to know her a bit. She grew up Catholic but wasn't really
active in her faith later on in life. Her niece (the member from the
Rego Park ward, Sister MacDonald) actually got the temple work done
for Betty's deceased husband, so we talked a bit about the temple and
baptisms for the dead. As we talked about Betty's husband, I could
literally feel him enter in the room. I could feel his excitement as
Betty was learning about the Restoration of Christ's Gospel and the
Book of Mormon. We talked with Betty for about an hour and a half. We
gave her a blessing and also knelt in prayer to offer a blessing on
her home and dedicate it to the Lord. There was such a strong feeling
of love, hope, and joy in her home as we all prayed together. It was
such a neat experience! Heavenly Father truly does have a plan for all
of His children.

The Elders in my district had a baptism on Saturday for Marko! It was
so special! Marko has come such a long way from the time the Sisters
found him 3 weeks ago! It was SO neat to be able to get to know him
and watch him become forever changed by the gospel. His step-mom came
to support him in being baptized. She is Catholic and is from Croatia!
She was very curious about the Church, so I was able to talk with her
a lot and answer some of her questions. She said that she felt
something different here, especially during the baptism of her
step-son. I have no doubt that she will also walk into the waters of
baptism some day!

That's all I have time for this week. Sorry! I love you all and wish
you the best!

Elder Snell





MegaZone Conference



Irma Rochford (less-active member we are working with) sent me this message after we invited her to give away two copies of the Book of Mormon :)

Not sure what these pictures were for. I couldn't open the documents. But hey, Caden must have been trying to tell us something. :) 

It's Always In the Last Place You Look

Hello, everyone!

Transfers were Tuesday! Elder Casares was called as a trainer, so
we got to the Rego Park chapel early for him. While we were there,
President Reynolds and the Assistants kept telling me that I am going
to get a great companion! They wouldn't tell who it was, though. They
would just tell me how amazing he is and then laugh when I asked who
it would be. One of the Assistants leaked it to Elder McCleary who
told Elder Jensen (my trainer). Elder Jensen then told me! Hahaha! I
am staying in Plainview for at least another 6 weeks and my new
companion is Elder McConkie! I was SO excited when I found out who my
companion was going to be! I have loved working with him so far this
week! I have learned so much about how to be a better missionary from
him and how to better help the members and the ward. Great things are
happening!

Last night, Elder McConkie and I decided that for the rest of the
night after dinner we should focus on some of the less-actives that no
one has met before. Nothing really came out of these look-ups until it
was about time to go home for the night. We roll up to the last house
for the night and go knock on the door. They let us right in! It was a
Mom, who has been less-active since high school, and her three
daughters who are all not a member of the Church. We started asking
them all questions trying to get to know them as much as we could. Two
of the daughters are in band in high school, so we had a bit to talk
about hahaha. We asked the Mom if she had ever read the Book of
Mormon. Turns out that she had never read it before for herself. We
talked about what the Book of Mormon is and what it's divine role is
in our conversion to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Elder McConkie
grabbed the copy of the Book of Mormon that I was carrying and opened
up to a random page wanting to share a scripture. He opened right up
to 2 Nephi 31 and read verses 20-21. I shared with the family that my
favorite part of that passage is where God says, "Ye shall have
eternal life." I testified to them that if we truly "feast upon the
words of Christ....and endure to the end" then we have been promised
that we will get to live with our Heavenly Father again and with our
families for eternity. The 17 year old daughter started to cry, so I
asked her what was on her mind. She said that she missed her Aunt who
had just passed away last year. I told her about my Grandpa who had
also passed away recently. I know that we will see our loved ones
again after this life. I feel my Grandpa with me all the time. I know
that the Book of Mormon is true and that the Plan of Salvation which
is outlined in the Book of Mormon is a true and perfect plan created
by our Heavenly Father. The Spirit was so strong as Elder McConkie and
I taught this family about eternal families. They all agreed to read
the Book of Mormon and to pray about it. I know that someday they are
going to accept the Gospel and be able to enter into the temple one
day as a family and be sealed together for time and all eternity. I
just love the Plan of Happiness so much!

Sorry for that extremely long paragraph! Haha I would like to now
commend those of you who actually made it to this portion of my email.
Consider yourself commended. So, Elder McConkie and I decided that we
should go to Seminary this morning! It was so nice to go to Seminary
again! Sister Pinelli and Sister Whitney both teach the 14 and up kids
from the ward at their homes. Both classes start at 5:45am Monday
through Friday. We woke up at 4:30am this morning and went to Sister
Pinelli's class. We talked about how our bodies are a temple and how
we can take care of them. We even did role plays! Whoo!!! It was a
party! We are going to Sister Whitney's class Wednesday morning. I
am so excited!

Well, welcome to the part of my email where I run out of ideas to
write about. It is a sad destination to reach. But alas, all good
things must come to an end. We did a bunch of regular stuff and are
continuing to see a lot of success with the Plainview ward.

That's about it for this week! I love you all and wish you the best!

Elder Snell


P.S. I was really lame this week and didn't take any pictures.

P.P.S. Actually, I found this one!!!!! Krista gave me a bag of
Starburst jelly beans (SO GOOD!), and I started sharing them with the
Bishopric. Brother Sorensen and I engaged in a lovely conversation
about Eastertime jellybean season and all the marvelous jellybean
species that show their faces around this time of year. He said that
he always stockpiles a bunch of jellybeans of all sorts of kinds and
flavors so he has them throughout the year. He also said that he would
get me one of each. I thought he was joking, but right in the middle
of Stake Conference yesterday, he sits down in front of Elder McConkie
and I, does a fake yawn-stretch with a plastic bag full of jellybeans,
and places the bag right in my lap. He then proceeds to stand and
return to his seat with his wife. SWEET!!! Literally! Brother Sorensen
is awesome!

Temple Trip Update! 3.4.17

Wow! What an amazing temple trip! Frances and Bruce froze in awe when
we rounded the corner and they saw the angel Moroni on top of the
temple. The veil was so thin in there, no one could hold in their
tears as Frances and Bruce performed sacred ordinances for their Mom
and Dad/Grandparents. I love them so much! It was so amazing to be
able to be there with them for their first time inside the temple. It
truly is such a holy place!

Moose, Markets, and TEMPLE

Happy Saturday, Everyone!  3.4.17

So, in answer to your first question: My preparation day has been
switched from Monday, March 1 to today so we can go to the temple with
Frances and Bruce! YAY! They are recent converts that I have been
working with since I arrived here in Plainview in August. They are so
excited to be able to participate in the proxy baptisms of their
deceased grandparents. It is such a tender mercy to be able to go with
them to share in that experience they are going to have today. I am so
excited to be able to go with them to the temple! I love it there!

Transfers are coming up tuesday. This past month just flew by for
me. It is crazy how time works out here. Transfer calls are Monday
morning, but I do know a couple things about what will be happening in
my district. Sister Fitt is going back home to Tennessee which means
that Sister Taylor will most likely stay here and get a new Sister
Training Leader companion. Elder Casares was called to be a trainer
yesterday, which means that Elder McCleary is for sure going to be
transferred. President told me that I will mostly likely stay for
another transfer back in my old apartment in Melville, so I will have
a new companion Tuesday. Pretty exciting stuff! I am so grateful
to have been able to serve with some really great missionaries these
past two transfers. I have learned and grown a lot because of the
wonderful example my district has been to me and everyone around them.

Nothing super exciting or different really happened this week other
than our temple trip today. So, I will wrap it up here. If you have
questions or anything, let me know! I love you all and wish you all
the best!

Elder Snell


Final district picture


Here is the "produce" at H Mart (Asian Marketplace)






So, I met a new friend

We went on a beautiful hike Monday!